REAL MADRID
Manchester United midfielder Casemiro explains his love for former club Real Madrid
The Brazil international made the switch to the Premier League last summer after winning five Champions League titles in Spain.
Manchester United midfielder Casemiro was reunited with some familiar faces on Wednesday, when the Red Devils took on his former club Real Madrid in a pre-season friendly in Houston. Jude Bellingham and Joselu scored in a 2-0 win for Los Blancos, in which the Brazilian international came up against Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, with whom he formed one of the best midfield trios in history, winning four Champions League titles together.
Casemiro focused on United despite Madrid affection
Casemiro somewhat surprisingly opted to continue his career away from Madrid last season after receiving an offer from United that was too good to turn down, but has incredibly fond memories of his time at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu and still has plenty of affection for his old club.
“Real Madrid, as everyone knows, is a club that I really love. I played for them for a long time, but that’s all in the past. Now I’m in Manchester, I’m very happy there and this was another important match for us in pre-season. I have a lot of respect for Real Madrid, but when you step out onto the pitch, you have to fight for your own team”.
What are Manchester United’s goals for the 2023/24 season?
The 31-year-old also gave his thoughts on how the Red Devils are shaping up ahead of the upcoming Premier League season: “I think we are improving. We won a trophy last year, finished third and played in another final. We have to keep evolving. The club always has to aspire to win trophies every year. What I want is for the club to be in good shape and for it to be as high in the league as possible. Of course, the team only has 11 players but the key to winning a trophy is to have a good team when you bring other players into the starting line-up”.
But Casemiro preferred to play down suggestions that the United could challenge for the Champions League trophy and would rather think in the short-term: “I think it’s too early to talk about the Champions League. We’re still in pre-season and we’re growing. Nobody likes to lose a game like we did against Madrid, but these games are for picking up the pace. The feelings you have, working hard, fighting and continuing to grow as a team, those things have to be our targets”.